November 2014

The holiday lighting that we have all come to love can only happen with merchant and community donations. This year, we need to raise $12,000.

We are asking that all neighborhood merchants and businesses contribute $200 each for professional installation, maintenance and removal of lights in the following areas:

* Market Street (from 20th Ave to 24th Ave)
* Ballard Avenue (from Market to 20th)
* 22nd Avenue (from Market to Ballard Ave)
* Trees in Bergen Place and Marvin's Garden

The Chamber is the fiscal agent for this effort, so please make your check payable to the Ballard Chamber of Commerce and drop it by the Chamber office (2208 NW Market).

YOU CAN ALSO PAY BY CREDIT CARD BY VISITING HTTP://TINYURL.COM/HOLIDAYS-IN-BALLARD.

The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) announces the availability of 50 brand new Senior HUD-subsidized affordable apartments located in the walk-friendly Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, close to the Seattle Public Library, Ballard Commons Park, NW Market Street and the Majestic Bay movie theater. Occupancy begins January 2015!

The large and bright studios and one-bedroom apartments include a full kitchen and bath, including level-entry showers. This beautiful community has apartments accessible for those with mobility challenges and accessible to the hearing and sight impaired.

The building features a welcoming lobby, mailbox area, resident lounge, computer bank, library, group kitchen and program space and professional on-site management. There will be gardening on the outdoor rooftop deck with a commanding 360o view. The resident services coordinator will organize outings and activities geared to the interests of residents, and provide referrals to community services as needed.

Mayor Ed Murray, joined by Councilmember Tim Burgess and Superintendent Larry Nyland, today announced the path forward for Seattle’s new voter-approved public preschool program. A blueprint for implementing the program will be delivered to the City Council by February 23rd, and the first cohort of three- and four-year-olds will enter classrooms in September.

“Voters recognized that a stronger educational system in Seattle depends on quality preschool that prepares children for success in elementary school,” said Murray. “The program we’re developing will support equity across the city and set its sights on reducing the dramatic opportunity gap between students of color and white kids that persists in Seattle schools.”

The Seattle Preschool Program will be developed using best educational practices. Research shows that age appropriate preschool leads to better outcomes in 4th grade reading and in high school graduation rates. In one study, Chicago children who attended a pre-k program were 29 percent more likely to graduate from high school than their peers who did not have quality preschool.

High School senior filmmakers interested in attending The University of Montana are invited to submit their films to compete for two weeks in The Senior Shorts Film Competition at TheAudienceAwards.com. The winner is chosen by the audience and awarded $1,000 in cash, $1,000 scholarship to The University of Montana if they major in Media Arts, and a $1,000 scholarship if they register for The Entertainment Management certificate, totaling $3,000 in prizes.

The competition is run by The Audience Awards, a networking platform connecting filmmakers to audiences through regularly occurring online film competitions. The Senior Shorts Film Competition is accepting short film submissions now through February 23, 2015 at TheAudienceAwards.com. The films will compete for two weeks from February 24- March 10, 2015. The film with the most votes may win up to $3,000.

Audiences worldwide can sign up for free to watch and vote for their favorite films. The audience is allowed to vote for all of their favorite films once a day.The cost of entry for the competition is $10.

The FBI and Seattle Safe Streets Task Force are on the watch for a masked man believed to be the perpetrator of four bank robberies dating back to October 16.

One of those robberies was at HomeStreet Bank on 15th Avenue Northwest in Ballard.

The police report states that on November 4 the suspect walked into the bank wearing a Halloween mask. The teller told him to take off the mask and then the suspect pointed a gun at her. He told her to give him all the money, and then went behind the counter and grabbed some cash and fled. Officers searched the area but did not find the suspect.

Other robberies include:
Oct. 16 — Chase Bank on 35th Avenue Northeast.
Oct. 30 — Key Bank on 35th Avenue Northeast.
Nov. 14 — Key Bank on Northeast Ravenna Boulevard.

Seattle Times reported that man has been named “The Man in the Rubber Mask.” FBI say that in each of the four robberies the man is wearing different masks and conceals himself wearing hats, heavy clothing and gloves. The man is armed with a handgun.

Food providers in King County may be facing large permit increases, which have the Seattle Farmers Market Association (organizers of the Ballard, Madrona and Wallingford farmers markets) and other groups very concerned that many small farmers and food processors will stop participating in King County farmers markets.

Department of Environmental Health Services at Public Health – Seattle and King County submitted a proposal to the King County Board of Health in late September to increase health risk permit fees for 2015.

James Apa Communications Manager for Public Health - Seattle & King County said, “Public Health’s goal is that all people can enjoy farmers markets and feel confident that the food they buy there is safe. Our work at the markets over the past few years has dramatically reduced the number of food safety violations, which is great for people’s health. It benefits farmers markets when public trust is high that the food they sell is safe.”

Holiday runners are waving their waddles and fluffing their feathers for the eighth annual Seattle Turkey Trot, a 5 K fun-run or walk with all proceeds benefiting the Ballard Food Bank.

Last year over 2,500 trotters traversed the course and raised over $90,000.

“I think it's amazing commitment and show how much this community cares and comes together to celebrate Thanksgiving Day by helping others and really showing that this event is important and a great way to end hungry,“ said Jen Muzia Executive Director of the Ballard Food Bank.

“Birds of a feather flock together ” just like last year, and the local cross country team members from Ingraham High School, Patrick and Kirby McDermott, will lead the Trot dressed as the holiday’s iconic bird.

“I think community is essential to the Food Bank and for people to come out and run and give thanks for what we have is amazing. We can’t do what we do without all the volunteers, bakeries and groceries stores and all the wonderful people that help make the food bank run (no pun intended).”

By Erin Bosetti

November 11 was a sad day for lovers of caramelized onions, succulent pork and cilantro sauce in Seattle. Paseo, Cuban sandwich emporium known for it’s long lines and it’s wait-worthy food, abruptly closed it’s doors. Amid murky allegations of shady under the counter wage withholding, it eventually emerged that the company had filed for bankruptcy amidst an impending lawsuit (http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2025020366_paseobankruptcyxml.ht…). Their pink building on Seaview Avenue was THE epicenter of beachside eating at Golden Gardens for all of Ballard. What now?

Even though there may be a chance that Paseo will be saved via Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/savvyorders/save-paseo), life is too short to linger on lost sandwiches. Luckily for Ballard, we’ve still got the best Cuban sandwich lineup.

By Tim Clifford

According to Michele Clarke-Mason, owner of Meant To Be Foods and the nutritional therapist for the Seahawks, it takes approximately 7,000 calories of food-a-day to feed a single player. The average intake for a mildly active man is estimated at about 2,500 calories a day.

“I had one player who lost 5 pounds in his first week back and we had to figure out a diet plan to keep his weight up” she explains.

Starting her work with the team last year, Michele, a lifelong Burien resident, plays a very active and hands-on role with the ‘Hawks by designing personalized meal plans and assisting in the daily offerings in the training facilities main dining hall.

Located in Renton and situated along Lake Washington the Virginia Mason Athletic Center (VMAC) is an impressive cathedral-like facility boasting a cutting edge weight-room, full length indoor football field and a 95 foot tall ceiling. Housed within a massive green hangar the site is also the only training camp in the NFL with a lakefront view.

Laptop taken from apartment

On Nov. 6, Seattle Police responded to a burglary at a residence at the 100 block of Northwest 85th Street. The complainant told officers that he had left his apartment to run errands, and when he returned he found his entire apartment had been rifled through. His laptop and personal items were taken. Witnesses told officers that they saw two suspicious looking white males in their 30’s with a laptop computer get into a white box truck that was parked outside the complex. The valued loss is $1,100.

Man wields knife waiting for his meds